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Iain's Ikken Hissatsu video

After watching this video I was intruiged by the hand position during the punch. It is not something that you see very often and it's not a particulalry natural position was wondering what the thinking was behind it?

Normally you see strikes witht he front of the fist like a boxer, but that isn't possible at this distance, so does it just come down to the distance the punch is thrown from, or are there other factors?

After watching this video I was intrigued by the hand position during the punch. It is not something that you see very often and it's not a particularly natural position was wondering what the thinking was behind it?

Hi Paul,

At that seminar I also showed how the hook can be delivered palm in, palm down and elbow high. The reason I asked them to stick to the version captured in the clip was for the very reason that you don’t see it very often :-)

As I explain in the clip Holger posted, the reason why people almost always hit with the front of the fist is because boxing rules state that is a must … and most people, quite rightly, try to imitate boxers when throwing hooks. However, rolling the hand over as I show works really well and is not so “distance dependant” as the front of fist versions.

I’m not saying one version is inherently better than another simply that all versions should be part of practise such that we possess versatility in our striking. I hope that helps?

I do have one question about throwing the hook this way: isn't there some concern about breaking your metacarpals due to head movement? I seem to recall that this happened to one of the fighters in one of the very early UFCs when he miscalculated distance on a backfist strike.

I do have one question about throwing the hook this way: isn't there some concern about breaking your metacarpals due to head movement? I seem to recall that this happened to one of the fighters in one of the very early UFCs when he miscalculated distance on a backfist strike.

That concern is a valid one and I think that whenever the fist hits the head there is a risk of broken bones. However, if I save my life and wellbeing – or the life and wellbeing of others – the possibility of a few broken bones is a small concern. And I’d not be hitting anyone full power in the head with a bare fist for any other reason.

There are sound arguments against using a closed fist to the head. There are also sound arguments for it (i.e. natural, permits flowing strikes from all angles, etc). My way around this is to teach both open-handed and close-handed variations of almost every combination we teach. The power generation methods remain the same and the students, through their own experience, can determine their personal preference.